Monthly Archives: January 2013

February 8 – The DozensREADING: Elijah Wald – The Dozens: A History of Rap’s Mama (Part One)READING: Elijah Wald – The Dozens (Part Two)PLAYLIST 1: The DozensPLAYLIST 2: The Dozens in Rap

February 15 – The Origins of Hip, The Practice of SignifyingREADING: Khephra Burns “Word from the Motherland”READING: John Leland – Hip: The History (PLAYLIST)CLICK HERE to hear versions of the three classic toasts discussed by Khephra Burns

February 22 – NYC in the 1970s; Graffiti ArtREADING: Peter Shapiro “The Rotten Apple”READING: C.J. Sullivan “There’s Hope For the Bronx”READING: Roger Gastman and Caleb Neelon – The History of American Graffiti (PT 1)READING: The History of American Graffiti (PT. 2)

READING: “Digging in the Crates” from Schloss Making BeatsREADING: Lethem “The Ecstasy of Influence” from Miller Sound UnboundREADING: Keller “The Musicians As Thief”READING: Lanier “Where Did the Music Go?”

FYI, the first reading is carried over from last week. If you have time, also take a look at the short web articles below that address recent debates and controversies over gender and sexuality in hip hop. Depending on time, we’ll be discussing some of these in class.

Also, see below for a description of this week’s assignment and for term paper guidelines. If possible, complete the assignment before class but NOT at the expense of doing the assigned reading. If you email it to me over the weekend, or by WEDNESDAY 5/15 at the latest, it will not be counted late. Your term paper is due the week after our last class meeting on WEDNESDAY 5/22.

ASSIGNMENT: As described in class, your assignment for this week is to create a “hip hop list” of at least 10-to-12 recorded tracks. The parameters of your list will be totally of your choosing. Your list should be accompanied by a description–one paragraph will be good–of your list’s parameters and the motivation behind choosing these parameters. Also, come prepared to play one of your tracks and discuss it in class. (you can choose something not on your list to discuss if that’s your preference).

There’s no upper limit to the number of tracks if you want to make a longer list. For an A+ you may chose to annotate (write something about) each track, but this is not required. Once the list is complete, send it to me—either as a Spotify playlist or as text. If you’re not able to email the list and paragraph-long description for some reason, bring a printed copy to class.

Check out the table of contents HERE if you need some ideas for a potential list.

***** The first is reading above focuses on hip hop and political activism. While the musical references are dated—they are contemporary to the era we’re focused on now in class—I think most of the questions and issues are still very relevant today. The second reading, Tricia Rose’s The Hip Hop Wars, is focused on the consequences of hip hop’s massive marketplace expansion, and corporatization, in the 1990s and 2000s. The final reading looks at the still-raging battle between hip hop and Reaganism. Think about the following questions as you are doing the reading:

Do you think that hip hop—either the music or the culture—should be politicized? Are there artists you like and listen to that express political views? Has hip hop influenced your politics? Do you think hip hop has influenced broader American politics in any way? In what ways do current rap artists reflect American politics and culture, and in what ways do they sometimes subvert “the establishment”?